LOS ANGELES – Thousands of people in Slovenia might have a hard time getting up for work Monday.

Anze Kopitar is to blame.

The Kings forward will become the first Slovenian player in any sport to participate in an All-Star game in the United States today.

The game in Atlanta starts at 3 p.m. on the West Coast but the nine-hour time difference means it won’t be over until around 3 a.m. in Kopitar’s homeland.

“It’s pretty crazy how they keep up with me despite the time difference,” Kopitar said. “I hope nobody gets fired to watch me.”

Of course, many in Slovenia are used to much worse. Some people, including Kopitar’s grandfather, plan their schedule around watching Kings games that can go until 7 a.m.

Coffee must be a key import in the small European country that borders Austria.

People don’t seem to mind sacrificing sleep to see Kopitar, the first Slovenian player in the NHL.

“He’s a hero back home,” said Marko Mayver, who works for the Slovenian Consulate in Washington, D.C. “He probably has Wayne Gretzky-level fame. He’s one of the most famous athletes in Slovenia.

“Everyone is so proud of him.”

When he returned home last summer following his rookie season, Kopitar was mobbed at the airport by reporters, television cameras, photographers and fans.

His making the All-Star team was front-page news in Slovenia.

Despite being the future of the Kings, Kopitar often can go to dinner in Los Angeles without being recognized since hockey still takes a back seat to the other major sports in the city.

He can’t go any place in Slovenia without someone stopping him to talk and ask for his autograph.

“There are people who recognize me on the street and everything, but it’s not really as bad as maybe rock stars have in their lives,” Kopitar said. “Here (in Los Angeles) I can kind of disappear in the big city.”

Soccer and basketball have long been the most popular sports in Slovenia. There are six NBA players from Slovenia, including Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic.

But Kopitar, a rising 20- year-old star, already has a higher profile in his sport than any of them.

“He’s making the path for the rest of us,” Vujacic said. “Hopefully we’ll have an All-Star in basketball soon.”

In his year and a half in the NHL, Kopitar has substantially increased hockey’s popularity in his country.

Slovenia has an odd makeup where two cities – Kopitar’s home of Jesenice and the neighboring Ljulbjana – are big into hockey and other areas favor different sports.

If Kopitar grew up 20 miles away, he might have been a basketball player. He does have the height for it at 6-foot-4.

“It’s strange for people here to understand,” said Matjaz Kopitar, Anze’s father. “You can drive across Slovenia in maybe an hour and a half. Jesenice is an old steel town. The people like hockey because the tough life working in the steel factory compares to the way hockey is a tough sport.”

Matjaz was a hockey player himself and coached the Jesenice adult team while Anze was growing up. When Anze was 16, Matjaz sent him off to Sweden to play with the higher-end European clubs. It was an unprecedented move for a Slovenian player and Matjaz drew criticism, but the risk paid off when Anze was drafted by the Kings in the first round in 2005.

Anze opened the door for other Slovenian hockey players to leave the country for better opportunities. Now there are a number of Slovenian players competing around Europe and in the U.S. junior system. Anze’s 16-year-old brother, Gasper, plays for the junior Kings.

When Anze returned to Slovenia last summer, he held a week-long hockey camp for the area’s younger players. Hockey is growing in the towns outside of Jesenice and Ljulbjana.

“Little kids are maybe looking up to me and want to be like me,” Kopitar said. “I’m really glad because everything I can do for hockey back home is great. We don’t have a lot of players. Most guys chose something else for different reasons. Every kid who decides to play hockey is special.”